Rodenbach Vin de Céréale

Brewed by Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm)
Style: Sour Ale
Roeselare, Belgium

Poured a fairly still clear deep gold. The aroma is tart yet sweet. Some strong caramel notes. Fruity and woody notes as well. Fruity and tart again with some sweetness mixed in. Acidic finish with no alcohol at all. Light-medium body. pretty tasty.

Bottle, shared by acrdz. Pours a clear gold body with a minimal thin head consisting of a few large bubbles. Nice acetic nose with oak and some sour apple. Quite a bit more funky than the regular Rodenbach. The flavor is quite biting and acidic with a good amount of oak tannins, kind of a one trick pony, but it’s at least a nice trick! Mouthfeel is lighter bodied with a dry bracing finish. Overall, a pretty nice sour, I like the heavy oakiness and vinegar. I would never have guessed that this was so high in ABV, very well hidden.

Bottled, thanks ante! Clear amber, absolutely no head. Concentrated citric buttery nose. A good amount of buttery caramelly malt well hidden in tart oaky citric acid. Juicy and concentrated flavour of vinegar and cranberry with the slightest hint of disturbing vegetables. Powerful and interesting, but I still prefer the regular Grand Cru.

Bottled. Pours out in a clear bronze colour, no head. Acidic aroma of wood, red apples and balsamic vinegar with sweet undertones of caramel, rose-petals and strawberries. Medium-bodied with notes of vinegar, wood, green apples, grass, red berries and caramel. Very flat carbonation. Acidic and woody finish with sweet undertones of caramel and red berries.

[Bottle from Vinens Verden.] Look of something dull, but the fluid sends aromanotes of sourness, wood, vinegar, grapes, apples and complexity. Quite carbonated for the expectation, but it’s almost ok. Flavor is similar, but I find the grand cru version is a better brew. Too much apple and carbo and it needs some freshness. But I’ll try it again. I’m sure!

Foeder 132, Bottle #004711, 2004 Bottle Date; Sampled April 2008
Served lightly chilled in a 25cl tulip glass. As expected the beer pours completely headless, only a slight ring of bubbles forms on top of a brilliantly clear, honey copper colored beer. A close inspection actually shows a slow, persistent generation of bubbles rising up from the bottom of my glass, so there is a touch of CO2 here. The aroma is tart, fruity and warm from alcohol. Reminds me a bit of a mix of apple cider-vinegar and brandy. Acetic & lactic acid aromatics up front yield to soft apple and perhaps a touch of plum aromatics. It is actually quite sour smelling throughout and other than this it is not overly funky. A chewy malt character seems to lay just underneath the surface here, never particularly noticeable, but its presence is somehow sensed in the aroma.

Quite tart tasting, and very dry up front, but it does pick up some very slight sweetness towards the middle and beginning of the finish that accents a soft cider-like flavor. Very light for a beer of this strength, and the alcohol is quite well hidden in the flavor by the dominant tartness. Mainly a lactic acidity is found in this beer, though a touch acetic essence is here as well. Dusty, stale malt flavors (like some crushed malt that has been left out for a couple of weeks) seem to inject themselves into the finish. Definitely not completely flat, the carbonation is quite slight, but contributes an extra texture to this beer. This really does have an apple cider essence to it that is quite nice and provides a slight balance to the tartness. This beer is not overly sour, at least compared to a hard Lambic, but is certainly quite tart tasting. Flavors of tamarind, slight sherry and some grassy, lightly toasted (to the aromatic point with not browning) grain.

This is certainly a sipping beer, though given a couple hours a 375ml bottle is not unmanageable. A very interesting take on a Barley Wine (or literally Grain Wine). I definitely am enjoying this brew, it is quite the experience. I find it interesting that the alcohol is only noticeable as a nose warming sensation in the nose, but not in the flavor. All in all this is quite soft tasting, the malt has certainly mellowed over all this time and the acidity, while substantial, is not harsh at all. Quite an experience.

Clear amber pour with no head. The aroma is very pleasant, there’s vinegar, lambic-like sourness nad tart fruits. The flavor, however is a bit less interesting even if it has the sourness, vinegar, tart fruits and some belgian funk, sweetness was present and partly ruined the experience. When I brought this back from Belgium, I had very high expectations since it’s highly rated, but I feel let down.

bottle thanks to miketd..... poured a very dead and lifelessapple brandy brown with no head to speak of..... aroma was lacking complexity. mostly sour green apple, and vinegary..... flavors were sour tart and vinegary paired with mild carbonation and an average mouthfeel. it was all too one dimensional for me. just very sour and vinegary and therefore lacking the qualities which would have made this more memorable.